Bulls Recover From Slow Start, Close Out Bucks at the Line

MILWAUKEE — The Bulls spent the first quarter falling behind and the last 76 seconds making sure their recovery held. Caleb Wilson, Norman Powell and Tre Jones combined to make 10 consecutive free throws down the stretch Friday, turning a close finish into a 132–125 road victory over Milwaukee.

Powell led Chicago with 25 points, Wilson added 21 and Leonard Miller supplied 19. The Bulls improved to 1–1 after their opening loss in Toronto. Milwaukee fell to 0–2 despite 34 points from Tyler Herro and a night on which the Bucks made seven more 3-pointers than Chicago. The difference came from how the Bulls supplemented their shooting and how reliably they finished possessions at the foul line.

Chicago went 28 of 30 on free throws, a 93.3 percent conversion rate. Milwaukee finished 14 of 26, or 53.8 percent. That produced a 14-point Bulls advantage from the same part of the floor where the final lead changed hands. It also gave Chicago a way to win while shooting just 12 of 45 from 3-point range.

The decisive sequence began with Milwaukee ahead 123–122. Wilson made two free throws with 1:16 remaining, putting the Bulls in front. He returned to the line with 35.5 seconds left and made two more, extending the advantage to 126–123. The rookie’s four points came with no field goal required and no possession wasted at the line.

Powell followed with two free throws at 20.2 seconds, and Jones added another pair with 9.9 seconds left. After Herro scored to cut the margin to 130–125, Jones made the final two at 4.6 seconds. Chicago’s last 10 points all came on free throws. The finish rewarded a team that had worked its way back into the contest long before the final fouls arrived.

The opening quarter offered little indication that the Bulls would be in position to close it out. Milwaukee led 32–17 after 12 minutes, leaving Chicago with a 15-point deficit. The Bulls answered with 44 points in the second quarter, cutting the halftime gap to 62–61. A game that had threatened to get away early was almost level by the break.

Both offenses continued scoring in the third. Milwaukee won that quarter 42–41, taking a 104–102 advantage into the fourth. Chicago’s final-period margin, 30–21, completed the turnaround. The Bulls’ recovery was therefore broader than a single late run: they erased most of the early damage before halftime, stayed close through another high-scoring quarter and then won the lower-scoring finish.

Jalen Smith gave Chicago 14 points and 13 rebounds, including five on the offensive glass. The Bulls collected 13 offensive rebounds as a team. Smith also made six of 10 field-goal attempts and recorded three steals, contributing efficient scoring and additional possessions while other players carried the larger point totals.

Miller’s 19 points came on seven-of-11 shooting. Buddy Hield made five of six shots, including three of four from beyond the arc, for 13 points. Their accuracy mattered on a night when the team’s overall 3-point percentage was only 26.7. Chicago did not receive evenly distributed shooting success; it needed the efficient performances it did get to count.

Jones finished with 11 points and eight assists without a turnover. Josh Giddey added nine assists, and Chicago totaled 29, matching Milwaukee’s number. The Bulls committed 14 turnovers to the Bucks’ 19. In a seven-point game, the combination of cleaner ball security and dependable foul shooting helped offset Milwaukee’s stronger perimeter output.

The teams each made 46 field goals and grabbed 44 rebounds. Milwaukee shot 50 percent from the field and 19 of 46 from 3-point range, while Chicago shot 46.9 percent overall. Those totals make the result more revealing than the final score alone: the Bulls won without leading the usual shooting comparisons because they found enough value in other possessions.

Herro made 12 of 24 shots and five of 10 3-pointers. Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 19 points and 11 rebounds, Kyle Kuzma scored 14 and Myles Turner had 12. Milwaukee had substantial offensive production, but its missed free throws and late turnovers left that production short of a first victory.

For Chicago, the result supplies an immediate response to Wednesday’s 135–92 defeat in Toronto without erasing the problems that opening night exposed. Friday required another early comeback and still included a difficult shooting night from distance. The improvement was visible in the willingness and ability to keep solving the game as its demands changed.

There is little time to hold the result in isolation. The Bulls return home to face Washington on Saturday, October 24. They bring that game a 1–1 record and a concrete example of a finish they can build on: recover the competitive position, protect the ball and make the points available at the line.